Machine for making folded tags



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

T. B. DE FOREST. MACHINE FOR MAKING FOLDED TAGS.

No. 44,496. Patented Sept. 27; 1864.

3 sheets sheet 2.

. T. B. DE FOREST. 7

MACHINE FOR MAKING FOLDED mes.

No. 44,496. I Patented, Sept. 27, 1864.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

1. B. DE FOREST.- MAGHINE FOR MAKING FOLDED TAGS.

No. 44,496. Patented Sept. 27, 1864.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS B. DE FOREST, OF BIRMINGHAM, CONNECTICUT.

V MACHINE. FOR MAKING FOLDED TAGS.

Specification forming part of' Letters PalentNo. 14,496, (latedSeptember 27, 1864.

ToaZZ whom, it may concern;

Be it known that I, T. B. DEFOREST, of Birmingham, of the county of New Haven, in the State of Connecticut, have invented anewaud useful Machine for Making Folded Tags or Price Labels; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings. making part of this application.

My invention has for its object to produce,: by an automatic machine, what-are known as folded tags or price-labels, which consist of an oblong piece or short strip of paper or other suitable material, having one end folded over in a peculiar manner, and an eyelet inserted therein, through which to pass a string fortheattachmentof thetag or label to goods, &c.; and it consists, first, in anorganized machine for making folded tags, in whichthe material from which the tags are formed is supplied by an intermittent feed-motion to a suitable table or sustaining surface, where it has performed upon it successivelythe several operations requisite to the production of a complete folded tag; secondly, in certain new combinations of mechanical devices for performing the several operations necessary to make a complete folded tag.

To enable those skilled .in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the construction and operation of my new tag-machine, referring by letters to the accompanying drawings, forming part'of this application, and in which- Figure is a top view of my improved machine for making tags. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, looking in the direction indicated by the red arrow, Fig. 1, (and showing only one of the four carriages and folding and carrying mechanisms.) Fig. 3 is a partial similar view looking in the direction in-f dicated by black arrow, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 .is a

vertical section at the line a: m, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section at the line 3 y, Fig. 2. Figs. 6, 7, 8 are detail views to be hereinafter more particularly explained.

In the several views or figures the same part will be found indicated by the same letter of reference. I The base of the machine consists of a suitable casting, A, of the form shown (or anyother desired,) from which, extend vertically- On the vertical shaft B is hung, a short dis-- tance above the base of the machine, a horiz'ontal face-plate or circular disk, E, which turns freely on said shaft, and which may have arranged fast on its under side a suitable pulley, through the. medium of which motion is,

imparted to the several parts of the machine. Immediately above theface-plate E (or its hub, rather) is arranged a hub, G, which turns freely on the shaft B as its axis, and from .which extend, radially and equidistant, four horizontal arms, H H H H, each one of which carries a mechanism which will be presently explained. I I I I are four shorter arms or lugs which also project from the hub G, the object and functions of whichwill be presently explained. v

The construction and operation of the machine may be more readily comprehended if it will be remembered that eachone of the four mechanisms which I have just "said is carried on each of the arms H, &c.', carries a supply of material and performsthe feeding, folding, and cutting off and discharg' ing operations, each one coming at the proper time in the proper position to admit of the tag being punched and eyeleted by the mechanisms for performing these operations, which mechanisms are arranged, respectively, onthe plates 0 and D.

The mechanism for punching the eye in the tag will be most clearly seen at'Fig. 3,-where a is the punch and b the lower hollow (punch or) die, each of whiohis arranged to work wer tically in suitable bearings, and both of which are soactuated as to move toward and from each, other in the same line of motion, the upper one penetrating the lower one. The punch a is actuated by a lever, .J, pivoted. at c, and

driven by the pin d working in itsslotsf, while the hollow punch or die b is actuated upward by the cam K,and downward by a spiral spring arranged around its shank. The cam K is moved on itscenter g by means of a pin, h, working inits slot 1', and said-pin h and also the pin 11 (provided with suitable friction-collars) are projected from the sideo'f a reciprocating verticalbar, L, which is arranged in suitable bearings on the plate 0, and which is driven by the vibratory bar or arm M. This bar M, is hung on a pivot, j, near its center, and hasthat end which extends under the disk E provided with an anti-friction-wheel, it, against which the cam N operates at certain times, as will be presently explained. L

The punching mechanism need not be more elaborately described, as it embraces no peculiarities which I deem new, in this applica' iton, and is very similar to that shown and .in the tag, which is brought into the proper a position to have the eyelet inserted in a manner to be presently described.

. The punch n and die-o are actuated by the lever P, and the die m by a cam, Q, said lever P and cam Q being driven, as shown, from the reciprocating bar R, which is operated by the arm S. This arm is made similar to that seen at M, and is operated upon in like manner by the same cam N. Thefeederbar,which feedst-he eyelets (oneat a time) to the inserting-dies, is pulled backward by a strap, q, passing over a fixed pulley, T, ant. attached to a vibrating angledever, U,(which is moved by a portion of the surface of cam Q. )and forward by aspring, r, made of rubber band, or of metal, in the usual manner.

I have not shown the hopper from which the eyelets are supplied, as it forms no part of my present invention; and I propose to use the apparatus shown and described in Letters Patent granted to me on the 13th day of J anuary, 1863.

From each one of the armsH there extends up a curved stand, V, which supports the carriage and holding mechanism, and immediately below each of these curved stands V is arranged a reel, W, on which is a supply of paper. or other material, from which the tags are to be made, in the form of a long strip,

(wound up,) equal in width to the width of the tag to be made.

In Figures 1, 2, and 3, I have omitted (in each) three of the folding-mechanism carriages in order to make the drawings less complicated and more easily understood.

I will now describe the construction and operation of one of these mechanisms, which will answer for all of them, as the'four are exact duplicates.

A is the frame projecting up from stand vV, and from which extends out a horizontal table orbedplate, B- In-the frame A are hung in suitable boxes the feed-rolls G D, the upper one of which is turned by a gear, Bf, through the motion of the under one, which is rotated by a pinion, E, (on its shaft a,)

which meshes into a vertical rack, F. The upper feed-roll is hung in boxes capable of sliding vertically upand down, and said roll is held "down with a spring-pressure onto the under roll by means of springs a. (See Fig. 4.) The rack F is formed on a bar, the lower portion of which passes through a long hearing or box, G, formed on arms I H, and has its lower end kept down on the top surface of disk any means of a rubber or other spring, a. The strip of paper wound on reel W has.one end passed in between the rolls 0 D, sothatthey will bite the paper, and the feeding-will then be efi'ected automatically by an intermittent rotation (in one direction) of the rolls 0 and D, caused by the reciprocation of the rack F up and down, although the said. rack drives the pinion Fffirst in onedireetion and then in another. The intermittent motion just mentioned is impartedto the lower roll by reason of the pinion E being arranged on shaft a with a ratchet, so as to only. affect the rotation of saidshaft when turning in one direc-- non.

G is a stand erected on the table B, in the upper portion of which slidesinsiiitableways, the carriage H", which carries the formers, over which the paper is folded, (as will be presently explained.) The carriage H has a stand,,

I, on top, in which is pivoted the arm J, one end of which is provided with a roll or wheel, at which works on the upperface of cam K, and the other end of which operates to depress at intervals the carriagelj, in which are arrangedtheshanks f g? of the formers h i. The cam K also operates (on its side'surface) against therear end of carriage H to move itin one direction; said carriagebeing kept up againstsaid cam by means of springs j M. is a carriage which is arranged to straddle the stand G", andwhich. is "r'eriprocated back-andforth on each side of said stand by means of the cam N and springs 1. In this carriage, are formedtwo oblique slots, m? m", through which project pins n n, from two carriages or sliding bars, 0 0, which are arranged just beneath carriage M, and which are caused by the slots m and pins n? to reciprocate at right angles to the motions of carriage M. The bars 0 o are provided with two arms, p p", at the extremities of which are formed the folding-blades q q.

On the extreme end of the table 13 is arranged to slide in a suitable bearing, a new,

on one end of which is the folding-blade s knife, which cuts off the required length 'of paper fed onto the 'table B" to make a tag.

v This knife R is forced down to cut by the outward motion of carriage H, which is provided on its under side with 2. lug, 0 which projects down and comes incontact with the inclined top surface of the stock S of said knife. The said stock and knife are kept or held up by a spring, r. The four arms I are formed with four "ertical boxes, T", in which ..work four vertical bars, U carrying at their down into a posit-ion in which they are oper;-

ated upon by alug, H projecting up from the top surface of the rotating disk E. On the plate D is arranged a' 'stand, A", in which is a spring-bolt,a ,(see Fig.2,) that snaps or catches into a hole, h in the end of (each one of).the arms H, for the purpose of retaining the said arm H (and allthe-mechanism it carries) in a stationary condition. Said bolt is thrown back at the proper time to allow the arm Hto move by a cam, B", on the edge of 'disk E coming in contact withnand pressing upon.an a'rm,o, (which moves the spring-bolt at.)

A portion of the table B on which the tag is formed, is made to slide back, (or toward the shaft B, to allow the completed tag to fall through and out of the machine. This portion of table B has a projecting part-,D (see- Figs. 2 and 4,) which slides in ways E on the frame A", and which is kept out by a spring, d, and forced in by the forward part of D coming in contact with the stationary finger or cam-bar, F (See Fig. 1.) At Figs. 7 and 8, I have shown a bottom and edge view of the disk E, and in these figures will be clearly seen the lug H which operates the bars U and also the cams which operate the punching and eyeleting mechanisms and the retaini n g-bol-t a. i I

After the'foregoing description of the sev eral parts and their detail action the following explanation of the automatic operation of the whole machine will make my invention clear. I'will suppose the reels W to be supplied with paper, and the eyelet-supplying apparatus attached and furnished with a quantity of eyelets, when power is applied to the drivingpulley, which causes the lug 'H to strike agai nst andcarry along that one of the bars U which is in the lowest position, (by being down in the depression 10",) and thus rotate all the arms H, carrying all the mechanisms for folding,

feeding, and cutting ofi' the paper; but when these parts have been carried about o.neqnarter of 'a circle around the shaft B the bar U, against which thelngfl 'js pressing, has asthe mechanism on arms H and I.

cended the cam-surface w, so as to be lifted clear of said lug, which then passes on round with the disk E (which is constantly rotating) until it comes in contact with the third bar U from that which it has just left, which third bar has by this time fallen down into the position occupied by the bar just released from lug H and is now carried round in like manner by said'lug. So on the lug H during its continuous travel in a circle around shaft B, carries with it during the same one-quarter of its rotation successively the several lugs U. This, it will be seen, induces all four of the carriages on stands V (with all their attachments) to move with the disk E during one-quarter of its revolution, and remain stationary during the other three quarters of said disk s revolution, one of the arms H beinglocked by bolt a always during such state of rest. With this understanding of the motions of the disk E and carriages carrying the tag, let us take one of said carriages and follow it around and note the operations of the feeding, folding, cuttingofl' (and eyeleting and punching) mechanism,

and we will then understand all, each of the said carriages and mechanisms performing the same motions and operations. I will take the carriage supposed to be in such position as to be opposite to the eyeleting mechanismthat is, nearest the plate D-and will suppose a tag to have been just eyeleted and to be laying in a finished condition on the table B. Now, the bolt'a. is forced out. of "the hole b in arm H,

' and the lug H strikes one of the bars U and begins to move said bar, and consequently all The carriage (in the condition) just alluded to now moves on, and the first operation is the discharging from table B of the finished tag, which is efiected bythe portion 1)" of said table coming in contact with the stationary camfinger F and being by said finger forced back, so as to leave an opening in the table B equal in area to the area of the finished tag and immediately below or under it, so that the tag is left withoutany support and falls through. The moment the sliding portion of table B has been forced back, as' ust mentioned, the former h descends a short distance and insures the extrieation or discharge of the finished tag. This former h is caused to descend, as soon as the table B is withdrawn from its under surface, by means of a spring around its shank f very much after the fashion of the presser-fo'ot of a sewing-machine. Before the table B comes back to its normalc'ondition the bar of rack F begins to ride up the cam P and efiect the feeding-out of the proper length of paper to form another tag. To prevent the paper now being fed out from getting on top of the former h (in its depressed position)or coming against the shank f, the former h? ismade with its rea'red'ge turned or bent up sufliciently far and at a proper angle to actas a guide to the .end of the slip of paper andindnce it to pass down and along under said former. Before the feed ceases, the table B shoots back into its former position, and the. paper then continues to feed on top of said table. About simultaneously with this motion of the table the former ht is lifted, so as not to press on the paper while feeding along on the said table-.I This lifting of. the former h is effected by the upward motion of the carriage L (caused by the springs 111. which is allowed to ascend by the inner end of the lever J coming over a depressed or low portion in the upper face of cam K. By the time the feeding ceases the lever J has been so acted on by the upper face of cam K as to cause it to force down again the carriage L and induce the former h"- to press on the piece of paper on the table B, which paper is at the same moment severed from the strip o'f supply by the descent of the knife RE, which is forced down (as before mentioned)'by the sliding outward (from shaft B) of the carriage H. This carriage is moved out by the action of the vertical surfaceof cam K against its rear or inner end, and is'thus moved out to bring the former h to a proper position to have the paper folded over it. The cam N has commenced to operate upon the inner end of carriage M and to force it outward. This action continties until the motion of carriage M by means of its slots m (acting on pins n in slide-bars 0 has caused the folding-blades (1 q to approach each other and bend or fold the corners of the paper up and over the edges of next quarter of rotation, the outer end of bar 1* comes against the cam'shaped end of rim Ntandthe former is forced in, causing the.

folding-blades to pass under the edge of thepaper and fold it up over the former i into shape seen at diagram No. 2. {is soon as this fold is completed, the former i recedes toward shaft B, leaving the folded tag under the foldingblade 8, and in this condition the folded paper is carried on until it arrives under punch a,

- where the carriage again stops and the paper is punched by-the action of punchesa and b,which have been already explained, and the material then presents the formseen atv'diagram'.

No. 3. The next quarter-rotation of the carriage,with the folded and punched piece of pa per, is around to the eyelet-inserting mechanism, which puts in an eyelet, thus completing the tag, as seen at No. 4. The folding-blade s has a notch cutout in its folding-edge to accdmmodate the punches of the punching and eyeleting mechanisms, and said blade 8, it will be seen, holds down the folded paper during the punching and eyeleting operations. The table B is formed with a hole, through which work up and down the dies and punches,which operate on the paper to punch and eyelet it.

It will be understood that the operations and motions of each of the other four carriages, with all their mechanism, is the same as that just explained, and that they all move simultaneously, and that while some hold the paper in a position to receive no action or operation, others hold their paperin the proper positions to be having the punching and eyeleting operations performed thereon.

It will be seen that this machine is automatic in all its operations, and that so long as the eyeleting mechanism is kept supplied with eyelets and the reels with paper it will con-- tinue to make and discharge (at a given point) finished. folded, and eyeleted tags, such as seen 1 and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is l 1. An organized and automatic machine for making folded tags, in which the material, from which the tag is to be cut, folded, and punched, is supplied by an intermittent feed to a suitable table or sustaining-surface, where it has performed upon it all the operations requisite to produce a folded tag.

2. In combination with a mechanism for folding over the end of the strip of material, a mechanism for feeding the material to the proper position to be folded.

3. A folding mechanism in combination with an eye forming or punching mechanism.

4. The employment, in combination with a folding "mechanism, of a cutting-off knife or its equivalent;

" 5. The combination of a folding mechanism,

a feeding mechanism, and a cutting-off device.

6 The combination of an'eyeleting mechanism with a folding mechanism.

7. The combination of a folding mechanism, an eye-punching mechanism, and an eyelet'ing .mechanism.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

T. B. DE FOREST. 9., s.] 

